Life is so fucked up these days.
I was sitting and thinking about life, and I realised something.
I have told you about some of my struggles before.
Now, it’s your turn.
Because maybe you are struggling too.
Maybe you are the person who smiles all day but cries when everyone goes to sleep.
Maybe you are scared of being judged.
Maybe you are tired of explaining yourself.
Maybe you are worried about your career, your money, your relationships, your family, or simply your future.
Maybe you look completely fine from the outside.
But inside, you are constantly asking yourself,
“What am I doing with my life?”
So let me tell you a story.
His name was Sourav.
He was 34.
And according to the world, he was already late.
He didn't have a proper job.
He didn't have much money saved.
He wasn't in a relationship.
He was gay, but that wasn't something he could casually talk about at home.
And the older he got, the more difficult everything seemed to become.
Every family function had the same questions.
“Shaadi kab kar rahe ho?”
“Koi ladki pasand hai?”
Sometimes Sourav laughed.
Sometimes he changed the topic.
Sometimes he went to the bathroom just to get away from the conversation.
Nobody knew what was happening inside his head.
At night, he would open his phone and look at job websites.
He would scroll through vacancies.
35 years maximum.
3 years experience required.
Good communication skills.
Salary: ₹25,000.
He would read everything carefully.
Then close the app.
Because even applying for a job had started feeling like a reminder of everything he hadn't achieved.
One night, his mother called him from the other room.
“Sourav, kal Sharma ji ke bete ki shaadi hai. Tum bhi chalna.”
Sourav said, “Haan.”
Then she asked the question he was expecting.
“Waise... tumhari life mein koi hai?”
There was silence.
Sourav looked at the ceiling.
He wanted to say yes.
There had been someone.
Someone he had loved.
Someone who had once made him believe that maybe his life could be normal.
But that relationship had ended.
Not because they stopped caring.
Because sometimes love is not enough when two people are scared of the world.
Sourav simply said,
“Nahi, koi nahi hai.”
His mother said,
“Ho jayega. Tension mat le.”
And walked away.
Sourav smiled.
Then he went to his room and cried.
Not loudly.
The kind of crying where you don't even make a sound because you have become too tired to explain your pain.
He wasn't crying only because he was single.
He was crying because he was scared.
Scared that he was getting older.
Scared that his career would never recover.
Scared that he would never have enough money.
Scared that his family would never truly know him.
Scared that maybe everyone else was moving forward while he was standing in the same place.
And the worst thought of all?
“Maybe there is something wrong with me.”
Now stop for a second.
Because maybe Sourav isn't really Sourav.
Maybe he is you.
Maybe your story looks completely different.
Maybe you're 21 and already worried that you're behind.
Maybe you're 28 and still looking for a career.
Maybe you're 34 and wondering if you've wasted your best years.
Maybe you're married but lonely.
Maybe you're single and tired of hearing that you're incomplete.
Maybe you're hiding your sexuality.
Maybe you're hiding your depression.
Maybe you're struggling with money.
Maybe you're surrounded by people who love you, but you still don't feel understood.
Different lives.
Different fears.
But the same little voice inside our heads:
“Everyone is okay except me.”
And I started thinking about this.
Why do we immediately blame ourselves when life becomes difficult?
If a plant doesn't grow, we don't call the plant a failure.
We check the soil.
The water.
The sunlight.
Maybe we should be a little kinder to ourselves too.
I did some reading about this while writing this blog.
And one thing kept coming back to me: struggling does not automatically mean that you are failing.
Our minds can turn a difficult period into a story about who we are.
“I don't have a job” slowly becomes “I'm useless.”
“I'm single” becomes “Nobody will love me.”
“I'm struggling with depression” becomes “I'll always be like this.”
“I haven't figured out my life” becomes “I've wasted my life.”
But these are not facts.
They are thoughts.
And thoughts can feel incredibly real when you're tired.
Maybe life has pushed you into a chapter you never wanted.
That doesn't mean the book ends there.
Sourav's life isn't magically fixed at the end of this story.
He doesn't suddenly get a job.
He doesn't suddenly find love.
His fears don't disappear overnight.
But the next morning, he wakes up.
Makes himself some tea.
Opens his laptop.
And applies for one job.
Just one.
Not because he suddenly believes everything will be perfect.
But because he finally understands something:
He doesn't have to solve his entire life today.
And neither do you.
If you're 20, 30, 40 or 50 and feel like you are standing still, please remember this—
being lost is not the same as being finished.
You can start again.
You can change direction.
You can ask for help.
You can take your time.
You can become someone you haven't met yet.
And maybe, just maybe, there was never anything fundamentally wrong with you.
Maybe you were just trying to survive a life that became heavier than you expected.
So tonight, don't ask yourself,
“Why am I so behind?”
Ask yourself something gentler:
“What do I need right now?”
Maybe the answer is rest.
Maybe it's help.
Maybe it's courage.
Maybe it's simply one more day.
Whatever it is—
start there.
You don't have to fix your whole life tonight.
You just have to stay long enough to see what happens next.
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